1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an improved method for forming a wood-waste product from wood-wastes such as stumps and limbs, and to collecting and utilizing such product for use as a soil, a soil additive or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
The most relevant prior art is believed to be embodied in the File History of the referred to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/223,839, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,819, the contents of which are deemed incorporated herein by reference. In other aspects of the prior art, the patent of Hartmann et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,420,320) provides a method for producing soil conditioners from waste material, such as refuse and sludge. Briquettes of the material are subjected to intense rotting to reduce the water content, and then the briquettes are ground and screened. The smaller particles are used as a soil conditioner and the larger ones are treated by low temperature carbonization or combustion.
Composting methods are often used to treat wastes containing plant matter. Composting results in extreme heating of the material being composted, requires the presence of a significant amount of moisture, and results in a humus-like final product. For example, the composting process of Willisch (U.S. Pat. No. 4,146,382) comprises grinding waste material to bring it to a predetermined size, and then bedding the material in successive self-aerating stacks having a honeycomb tunnel ventilation system, which is actively aerated. The resultant material may be used for compost.
City wastes, which are high in paper content, may be treated by being ground into small pieces, screened, and placed in a digester in layers that are turned over periodically with plowshares and are watered and held to retain a high temperature for the decomposition to proceed (U.S. Pat. No. 4,050,917).
In some instances, trees and limbs are broken into short sections for burying (U.S. Pat. No. 3,719,314).
Silvicultural wastes and other arboreal wastes are produced in substantial volume when land is cleared for highways, agriculture, and construction of buildings and other structures. The stumps, limbs, branches, tree trunks and whole trees comprising the wood-wastes produced are typically either placed in a landfill, dumped into a deep hole and covered, bulldozed and packed into a relatively tight pile on an unused piece of land, ground into chips and scattered, or burned. It was not known before applicants' prior invention as set forth in applicants' U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,819 to provide a method for forming such wood-wastes into a useful product and particularly in a manner not requiring that the wood-wastes be ground, broken, burned, periodically turned, composted, aerated or chemically treated.
Local and state governments have enacted rules to control how and where persons may dispose of such wood-waste materials. For example, the North Carolina Administrative Code currently provides that "demolition landfills", which are defined as landfills that are limited to receiving stumps, limbs, leaves, concrete, brick, wood, uncontaminated earth or other approved solid wastes, must have the waste placed therein restricted to the smallest area feasible, and must meet other requirements.
The North Carolina Administrative Code further defines "yard wastes", as being limited to stumps, limbs, leaves, grass and untreated wood, and specifies treatment by composting of the wastes. In such facilities, the particle size of the larger trash items such as limbs, trees, and stumps is required by law to be reduced to promote composting. The compost must also be aerated, such as by turning, elevated temperatures must be maintained, and nitrogen bearing waste such as grass clippings must be incorporated to aid in the microbial composting process.
Thus, the primary ways of disposing of wood-containing wastes, either do not utilize large waste pieces, do not result in a usable product, and/or require covering with top soil, grinding, burying, burning, composting, heat generation, addition of water, aerating, turning or substantial labor.
The prior invention described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,819 in contrast to the prior art provides a method for converting such wood-wastes into a useable product in a manner which does not require grinding, composting, heat generation, addition of water or chemicals, aerating, turning, burning or burying.
It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide an improved method for forming wood-containing wastes into a useful wood-waste product and once formed, a method for collecting such wood-waste product for transfer to a useful application.
A further and more specific object of the present invention is to provide an improved method for forming wood-containing wastes into a useful product and once formed, a method for collecting such wood-waste product in a manner which does not require or involve grinding, the addition of water or chemicals, heat generation, composting, aeration, breaking, burning or burying.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for forming wood-containing wastes into a wood-waste product which may be used as soil to grow plants at the same location at which the wood-waste product was formed.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved means for enhancing drying of the wood-waste pile during forming of the wood-waste product of the invention.
Other objects and advantages will be more fully apparent from the following disclosure and appended claims.